Biodancer- from my experience of having a lot of non stress tests, there are all sorts of reasons why the fetus's heartbeat might go lower (it's in a position that's pushing on it's eyeballs for example) and doctors think that probably the fetus's heart beat goes lower sometimes when you are just going about doing your thing. But when you are hooked up to the machine and they see it happen, they can't know why they are seeing it and even if you are followed up with hours of perfect non stress test results (as I was) the lowered heartbeat has been recorded and your pregnancy is high risk. Now, my birth became an emergency situation, so maybe my fetus's 20 seconds of lowered heartbeat was actually a real problem, but I don't think so. I think the situation your doctors are describing for you- lots of tests followed by interventions, is likely to result in interventions.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

hi everyone, im back home and have my laptop (didnt bring it on our thanksgiving trip) and i was curious to search for the vegetarian/vegan false positive early risk screening link.

im not the best at googling things but it appears that there was a study done in 2003 in Taiwan that concludes the level of one of the proteins measured in the early risk bloodwork is greatly elevated in vegetarians leading to a lot more false positive results and invasive procedures.

then i did find a pdf of the actual study but im unsure of how to link to it.but if you google "early risk assessment pregnancy false positive vegetarians" it SHOULD be the 3rd one down. it says pdf in front of it so be warned it will download to your computer

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

well the cat's out of the bag at work.my supervisor asked me what happened last week (i think mainly out of concern) and i felt a bit cornered so i was like "f it im gonna have to tell them at some point"so i went to HR first and then i told my supervisor.it went better than expected.i knew HR wouldnt care too much. i mean she was happy for me and understanding of my issues last week, etc but the fact that im leaving doesnt affect her day much (which is totally fine!)my supervisor was the one i was worried about. i took over a lot of her misc things she was doing so she could concentrate more on the bigger things so i do a lot of work for her.that and im just generally a good employee that is easy to get along with. so i wasnt sure how it was going to go over that im leaving and not coming back (i said i might be able to do part time which is true!)and although she doesnt want me to leave she was very upbeat and positive about the "stay at home mom" idea. she thought it was great and the best thing for the baby if you are able to do it. i didnt expect that from her at all. she has no kids and historically has not shown much compassion when people need to leave early or have a kid related emergency.

so it went pretty well.

the thing that sucks is i feel like complete crepe today. the acid reflux is back even though im still taking the prilosec.ive waivered back and forth all day between feeling ok and feeling like im going to projectile vomit or pass out. im also super duper tired. i think the stress of last week plus traveling for the holiday has caught up with me. i just want to go home and nap. hopefully i make it through the day without puking.

More about vegetarians and false positive AFP testing. The study from Taiwan (which apparently looked at lifelong vegetarians) showed that low blood B-12 levels led to elevated serum free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is one of the compounds they look for in the AFP testing. The levels were nearly 30% higher in vegetarians on average, so you could imagine how that would increase "false positives." Take home message - make sure your B-12 status is optimum before you get pregnant and keep it there during pregnancy.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

Ariann wrote:

More about vegetarians and false positive AFP testing. The study from Taiwan (which apparently looked at lifelong vegetarians) showed that low blood B-12 levels led to elevated serum free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is one of the compounds they look for in the AFP testing. The levels were nearly 30% higher in vegetarians on average, so you could imagine how that would increase "false positives." Take home message - make sure your B-12 status is optimum before you get pregnant and keep it there during pregnancy.

ok so that was the B12 connection? i skimmmed part of it but i wont lie i didnt understand most of it and my eyes went cross eyed.so now i wonder if my b12 is low?they've taken so much blood from me and have not told me that. i take a b12 pill everyday but maybe there is reknewed light into this whole sublingual vs non-sublingual thing? i dont do the sublingual one.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

i have another question that im not sure the study addresses but maybe someone smart knows.the genetic counselor told us that these 4 (i think) proteins they look for are ONLY in your body during pregnancy. so im just curious between the correlation between low b12 and a high pregnancy protein.

maybe it's just one of the mysteries of the body. i dont understand this kind of stuff but at the same time i find it fascinating. like why does it do that?

I'm not sure of the connection between B-12 and beta-human HCG (which yes, should only be in your body during pregnancy, it's made by the pregnancy; if it's there at other times it may be a sign of cancer), but B-12 does all kinds of things in the body. Low B-12 can also lead to higher homocystein levels, which increases heart disease risk. You should certainly be taking a daily B-12 supplement - they say now that sublingual vs. not probably doesn't matter. And they won't test you for B-12 routinely, you have to specifically ask for it.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

ill have to ask my Dr at my next appt.i do take B12 everyday but now im nervous.they literally took 10 vials of blood out of me at my first OB appt so i assumed they checked EVERYTHING.

ill ask her if they checked my b12 level and then what she thinks about this link.i know last time i had a physical which i believe was October 2011 i asked them to check my B12 and it came back within normal range.

Hi guys! The twins were born Monday, and they were fine, but I had lots of complications - I basically went from not being in labor at all to being in transition in less than two hours. I had two blood transfusions, a fever that lasted 3 days, postpartum pre-eclampsia that resulted being on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours, with three IV tubes in my arms, and I'm still trying to figure out everything that happened. I'm happy that I made it to 38+ weeks and was able to avoid a c-section, but I'm more happy that we're all safe and healthy. I wish I'd finally produce milk, though.

I'll share more soon, but we're still just adjusting. I kind of still feel like hell, although the babies are doing really well. I'm sorry if this is a little disjointed, but my brain still isn't working at full capacity!

Twin A, Alice Josephine was born at 12:02pm, weighed 6lbs4oz. Twin B, Emerson Blake was born at 12:14pm, and was 6lbs2oz. They were both around 20" long.

Josephine was my great-grandmother's name, and she chose my name. Otherwise, the other names are literary/historical and we thought about them for a long time. I feel like I need to keep saying that because apparently Emerson (and Blake) are trending.

_________________"Noooo! Karyn, you have to stop posting old Jensen pics. He looks way too smooth in those pics, like if I touch his face it'll feel like silk or bosoms or something."-mixmaster_moIt's Raining Kale

Oh my goodness, dtbk, they're gorgeous! Congratulations! I'm glad they're doing well, and I hope you recover quickly! I know you're in the thick of it right now, but I hope you have support around you that will allow you to take some time to yourself. Birth really takes it out of you, and I can't imagine going through it twice right in a row. You're amazing.